Kevin Quillien is co-founder and CTO of satellite-enabled communications provider Krucial, where he is responsible for the development of Krucial’s innovative technology.
Kevin has a successful track record of delivering complex projects in the fields of astronautics, satellite systems, communications (TT&C), R&D, digital transformation, and product delivery. His latest mission is to use space technology to end the geographical divide between those businesses that can access connectivity and those that can’t.
Krucial currently works across a number of key verticals, including aquaculture, and has a suite of remote monitoring solutions for the sector. It has deployed technology across several aquaculture operations, including with Mowi to support accurate and continuous monitoring of key environmental parameters. At Krucial, Kevin steers technological strategy and leads on product R&D, delivery and implementation.
You have a rich career in the aquaculture sector. What initially lead you to this field?
My path into the aquaculture sector has been quite an odd one. My background is in the space industry, and I spent most of my early career designing and building satellites for a variety of customers.
When my co-founder and I started Krucial, we did so because we saw the huge progress being made developing infrastructure in space, particularly in telecommunications, and realised that someone needed to bring all this technology down to Earth – to turn it into solutions that can solve real problems for people around the world.
We developed an early prototype of what would become our core technology, were introduced to aquaculture and quickly fell in love with the sector. Having seen first-hand the immense effort that goes into getting high quality seafood products on to people’s plates and realising the potential for technology to benefit the industry, we started working with the sector to develop our Connected Seafarm solution.
What are some key challenges or trends currently impacting the aquaculture industry?
It’s a hugely exciting time for the aquaculture sector; we’re all acutely aware that aquaculture is vital to feeding a growing global population without depleting our already threatened oceans, so the sector needs to be bold and ambitious as it seeks to grow sustainably.
To succeed, innovation is a necessity – and that’s one of the key trends we’re seeing. Whether it’s the discussion around deep water farms, semi- and fully enclosed offshore pens, or centralisation of operations across entire regions, technology is set to play a central role in unlocking future progress by providing tools and capabilities to producers and their personnel. As an enabler for this technology, we’re excited for the role Krucial can play on this mission.
How does Krucial contribute to the advancement of sustainable aquaculture?
Krucial’s Connected Seafarm is a connectivity platform which enables digital technologies by ensuring data flows at all times – a solid foundation that reduces risk for producers and users and acts as a major catalyst for the adoption of cutting-edge innovation across the sector. Data is moved via cellular and multiple satellite backhaul – switching automatically depending on availability, meaning that even in extreme weather or further offshore, where connectivity has traditionally been an obstacle, farmers still have an overview of their operations.
The Connected Seafarm provides mission-critical data on environmental and asset conditions and can even deploy a suite of algae bloom monitoring sensors which combine with other datasets on an insights platform to enable early detection of blooms.
Another use of the Connected Seafarm is to support remote feeding using low-latency video and feed controls. This service allows management of feeding even on offshore sites, with users able to control things from their office or even their own home hundreds or thousands of miles away. Using Krucial’s connectivity infrastructure means no farm is out of reach – and can save the industry millions in wasted feed, as well as boosting fish welfare and sustainability.
What career opportunities and pathways do you see emerging in the aquaculture industry in near future?
As companies look to new advanced solutions, aquaculture-specific technology careers will become more common, with more and more sensors, analysis tools and green tech coming to market. As a forward-looking sector, providing opportunities to the next generation of professionals from environmental scientists to software engineers is critical – and fostering a sense of collaboration will see a huge opportunity for the sector as it continues to grow.
What in your opinion is the worst impact the pandemic had on the aquaculture industry?
Aquaculture is hugely important to feeding the world and so had to keep going even as other industries stopped – but the impacts were felt, nonetheless. That’s where Krucial’s technology can help – by enabling fully remote monitoring and management.
Where do you think the industry will be by 2050?
Aquaculture will continue seeking sustainable solutions to the issues facing the industry and the wider water environment. While the world must tackle climate change, aquaculture can be at the forefront of doing so.
Better tech will result in more in-depth monitoring of conditions, a greater understanding of fish welfare and more measures to tackle issues including algal blooms – and Krucial will be there to support the sector as it does today.
